Opinions of Sunday, 29 April 2012
Columnist: Damptey, Daniel Danquah
Is President John Evans Atta Mills the re-incarnated Sanni Abacha of Nigeria (2)?
The Ga Mantse Saga: The NDC has made it abundantly clear that it will have nothing to do with the current Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Tawiah 111 because he has not been gazetted. But this falls flat in the face of glaring evidence that the late Ya Na had also not been gazetted at the time of the Dagbon crisis. The truth of the matter is that the Ga Mantse was installed during the NPP Administration and the NDC believes his sympathy will go to the NPP.
Now, the Gbese Mantse, Nii Ayi Bonte 11 in June, 2010 made a public pronouncement that he would destool the Ga Mantse by August and enstool a new one. These were dangerous pronouncements which calculated to cause mayhem in the nation’s capital. Instead of taking pre-emptive measure to nip the imminent threat to life and security in the bud, the security agencies deliberately went to sleep, thereby making it possible for the Gbese Mantse to9 achieve his aim. A few months after his threat, he and his supporters one Monday morning seized the Ga Traditional Council Office and the Ga Mantse Palace.
Why was the Gbese Mantse not ‘invited’ by the police for his utterances which were calculated to cause fear and panic? Knowing very well the volatile nature of chieftaincy crisis in the country, we expected the Security outfit to have been pro-active in their handling of the matter. Their failure to act led the Ga Gbese to carry out his threat when he installed another Ga Mantse, Nii Adama Latsa 11. What would have happened if the Nii Tackie Tawiah’s faction has resisted the take over of those buildings?
I am extremely alarmed at the seemingly lackadaisical attitude of our Commander in Chief when the security of our state is threatened. In my holy village at Abomoso, some elders attempted to destool the Queen mother of the town. The Police Commander at Anyinam preferred criminal charges against them. They were arrested and prosecuted in court. The enstoolment of a second Ga Mantse at a time when the incumbent has not been destooled was something that could have plunged the nation’s capital into chaos. The Dagbon crisis should remind our security agencies to discharge their duties professionally and without favour.
The Genesis of the problem: Let us delve into history and you will come to terms with the true situation on the ground. When the issue first came to light, I expected the security agencies to do an in-depth investigation to find out what actually was happening. The Electoral Commission too has not been forthright as to who qualifies to be an ordinary resident and therefore is entitled to vote. NPP members and those with Akan names were complaining that they were being prevented from registering. What did the Police do about it? What about the EC?
Let us be honest to ourselves. Nii Lante Vanderpuye claims an alibi which cannot be faulted. He says he was working at the Castle at the time Ursula Owusu and Samuel Abu Jinapor were attacked. No problem. But we cannot overlook the fact that Nii Lante had some few days earlier issued a stern warning to NPP members that if they were men, they should come to Odododiodoo. This was after Sir John had given an ultimatum for the NDC to stop preventing their members from registering.
Now somebody tells you “you will see”. And if a few days after, something evil happens to you, whom do we blame and who will be the first suspect? Is it not the one who issued the threat?
Nii Lante Vanderpuye is violent: But the answer is not farfetched. Knowing well the antecedent of Nii Lante Vanderpuye, it will not be incorrect to conclude that the assault of Ursula Owusu and Abu Jinapor was masterminded by Presidential Aide, Nii Lante Vanderpuye. How did he win his Parliamentary Primary? There is conclusive evidence that he used thuggery to further his parliamentary ambition. Did the current MP, Nii Tackie Commey not complain of Nii Lante Vanderpuye using his security personnel from the Castle to intimidate his supporters. This is no news and was carried in the papers. So what are they saying? That Nii Lante Vanderpuye is not violent? Go and tell that to the marines.
What about the period when they were in opposition and the former MP for the Constituency died and there was to be a bye election? One Walid, who had contested the NDC primaries to select a candidate for the Odododiodoo Constituency felt cheated and decided to contest the election as an Independent Candidate. Former Prez Rawlings and other top members of the party prevailed on Walid to step down. They decide to re-imburse him for the amount he had so far spent on his bid. An amount of four thousand dollars was given to Nii Lante and one of Mills’ body guards now at the Castle to be given to the said Walid who was then on admission at the hospital.
Nii Lante Vanderpuye and the Mills body guard, according to some NDC members gave only two thousand dollars to the wife of Walid. A serial caller of the NDC complained bitterly about the “antics” of Nii Lante and the Mills body guard on radio. The two, now appointees at the Castle went to the shop of the serial caller and assaulted him. They left a message that they would get back and finish him off. This assault was published in the Ghanaian Lens where it was stated an investigation would be conducted into the matter, but nothing came out of it. This bodyguard, I learnt was the one who unlawfully impounded the vehicle of the Flag-bearer of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
So to come out to say that Nii Lante Vanderpuye is not violent is neither here nor there. The picture I have painted here depicts vividly that the man is indeed violent.
Agyenim Boateng has lied to the nation: But is it not an insult to Ghanaians in general and those living around James Town for Agyenim Boateng to public denounce pictures of people wielding guns, machetes, axes, sticks and other dangerous weapons as coming from foreign countries? This is similar to what Baba Jamal went on air to say that President Mills had a first class degree which was a lie. And it was this same Baba Jamal who told staff of the Ministry of Information Services Department that if they saw a goat, they should say it was a cow and to say it was a helicopter when they saw a mosquito. That is the NDC for you.
Arrest them: NDC claims pictures of those wielding pick axes, guns, machetes, sticks and other dangerous weapons are not NDC members and could be NPP members. Let us settle on one thing. Nii Lante and NDC members claim they know everybody who lives in the constituency. The events happened in Ghana, Odododiodoo, to be precise. The pictures have faces of known people living in the area. Nii Lante Vanderpuye could assist the Police by identifying the people in the pictures so that their arrest could be effected. We could then found up from them which of the political parties they belong to and who are their sponsors.
Ursula Owusu has given some names. Let the Police follow the lead so that the country would be at peace.
Disturbances in Ashanti Region: In Ashanti Region there is a report of one Dzibodi who had been going round on motor bikes to various registration centres to cause mayhem, including assaulting individuals perceived to belong to a different political dispensation apart from the NDC.. He was declared wanted and an amount placed on his head by the Divisional Police Commander of the Pankrono District. The Police Administration has come out publicly to denounce its own man just because the DPO’s action was against a known activist of the ruling government.
But we have known all along that the Police Administration has been protecting its own personnel including defending even the indefensible. Why this public chastisement of one of its own now? Couldn’t the matter have been treated administratively instead of making it public?
Daniel Danquah Damptey 0243715297
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